Life of Muhammad — Page 20
sa 20 serious view of what was happening. They went in a deputation to the Prophet's sa uncle, A bu Tal i b , and addressed him thus: You are one of our chiefs and for your sake we have so far spared your nephew, Muhammad sa. The time has come, however, when we should put an end to this national crisis, this conflict, in our midst. We ask and demand that he should desist from saying anything against our idols. Let him proclaim that God is One, but let him not say anything against our idols. If he agrees to this, our conflict and controversy with him will be over. We urge you to persuade him. But if you are unable to do so, then one of two things must happen. Either you will have to give up your nephew, or we, your people, will give you up (Hish a m). A bu Tal i b was confronted with a hard choice. To give up his nephew was hard. Equally hard was it to be disowned by his people. Arabs had little in the way of money. Their prestige lay in their leadership. They lived for their people, and their people for them. A bu Tal i b was much upset. He sent for the Prophet sa and explained to him the demand made by the elders of Mecca. "If you do not agree," he said with tears in his eyes, "then either I have to give you up or my people will give me up. " The Prophet sa was in evident sympathy with his uncle. Tears came to his eyes and he said: I ask you not to give up your people. I ask you not to stand by me. Instead, you may give me up and stand by your people. But the One and Only God is my witness when I say that even if they were to place the sun on my right and the moon on my left, I would not desist from preaching the truth of the One God. I must go on doing so until I die. You can choose your own pleasure ( Hish a m and Zurq a n i ). This reply, firm, straight and sincere, opened the eyes of A bu Tal i b. He sank deep in thought. Though he did not have the courage to believe, he thought he was lucky to have lived to see this grand demonstration of